THE ROMAN EMPIRE GARDNER CHAPTER 10-1 PP. 237-244

ANCIENT ROME - BACKGROUND The Roman Empire -> from Gibraltar to the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates to the Rhine, Danube, Thames and beyond Multicultural -> Britons, Gauls, Greeks, Egyptians, Africans, Syrians, Jews, and Christians Roman art and architecture -> covers Europe, Middle East, and Africa Temples and basilicas, concrete vaults, amphitheaters, docks, road networks Law, government, language, coinage, art to manipulate public opinion, concrete construction At the center of it all -> the city of the Tiber -> Rome -> founded by Romulus and Remus in 753 BCE

THE CITY OF ROME 5 6 8 7 9 10 4 11 1 17 15 3 2 Temple of Portunus Circus Maximus Palatine Hill Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus Pantheon Column of Trajan Forum of Trajan Markets of Trajan Forum of Julius Caesar Forum of Augustus Forum Romanum Basilica Nova Arch of Titus Temple of Venus and Roma Arch of Constantine Colossus of Nero Colosseum 11 1 17 15 3 2

AN OUTLINE OF ROMAN HISTORY MONARCHY 753-509 BCE -> from Romulus and Remus to the overthrow of the Tarquinius Superbus REPUBLIC 509-27 BCE -> from the expulsion of Tarquinius Superbus to Octavian becoming Caesar Augustus following victory in the civil war that ended the Republic EARLY EMPIRE 27 BCE – 96 CE -> begins with rule of Augustus through his Julio-Claudian successors until the end of the Flavian dynasty HIGH EMPIRE 96-192 CE -> begins with rule of Nerva and the Spanish Emperors Trajan and Hadrian through the Antonine dynasty LATE EMPIRE 193-337 CE -> from the Severan dynasty to soldier emperors, the tetrarchs, and Constantine, the first Christian emperor

THE REPUBLIC 509 BCE -> Rome becomes a constitutional Republic -> power was vested in the SENATE and two elected CONSULS In time of crisis a DICTATOR could be elected for a set time and set purpose All leaders came from the PATRICIANS = wealthy landowners Later PLEBEIANS = small farmers, merchants, freed slaves could hold office

ARCHITECTURE 211 BCE is a turning point for Roman and Roman art -> Marcellus conquers the Sicilian Greek city of Syracuse -> brings back its art -> craze begins for all things Greek – sculpture, painting, architecture Greece becomes a Roman province in 146 BCE 133 BCE the last Attalid king of Pergamon wills his kingdom to Rome

TEMPLE OF PORTUNUS, ROME Temple of “Fortununa Virilis”, Rome, Italy, 75 BCE Eclecticism -> mixing of Greek and Etruscan traditions High podium, and flight of steps only at front, freestanding columns only on the deep porch Columns are not Tuscan but Ionic with flutes and bases, and a matching Ionic frieze Engaged columns on the sides and back of the cella = PSUEDOPERIPETAL temple

TEMPLE OF VESTA, TIVOLI Roman temple built at Vesta on a site overlooking a deep gorge in the early 1st century Greek inspired -> round or tholos temple Travertine Corinthian columns Frieze is carved with garlands held up oxen heads High podium reached by narrow stairway leading to cella door -> axial alignment Cella wall made not of stone blocks but a new invention -> concrete

SANCTUARY OF FORTUNA, PALESTRINA Late 2nd century Most impressive use of concrete during the Republic Spread out over several terraces leading up the hillside to a tholos Use of concrete to construct barrel vaults of enormous strength to support the terraces and cover the ramps leading to central staircase Shops aligned on two consecutive levels -> food and souvenirs

ROMAN CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION Revolutionized architectural design Made of lime mortar, volcanic sand, water, and small stones Builders place mixture in wooden frames -> left it to dry -> removed wooden molds -> created a solid mass of great strength Less costly form of construction BARREL VAULT = semicylindrical ceiling of parallel walls -> forms could be put into the concrete to create windows at any point GROIN VAULT = formed by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults of equal size -> appears lighter and needs less buttressing FENESTRATED SEQUENC OF GROIN VAULTS CONCRETE HEMISPHERICAL DOME -> usually rested on concrete cylindrical drum -> sometimes include an OCCULUS = circular opening at the apex

(2-42) HEAD OF A ROMAN PARTRICIAN Republican Rome c. 75-50 B. C. E (2-42) HEAD OF A ROMAN PARTRICIAN Republican Rome c. 75-50 B.C.E. marble FLASHCARD IMAGINES = portrait busts of ancestors kept by the aristocratic patricians in wooden cabinets in their homes -> paraded/displayed at funerals of prominent relatives Subjects of portraits almost always men of advanced age brutally realistic images with distinctive features VERISTIC = superrealistic

TIVOLI GENERAL Portrait of a Roman general from the Sanctuary of Hercules, Tivoli, Italy, ca. 75-50 BCE, marble, 6’2” Idealized Greek style statue of a hero or athlete but with the head is a Roman versitic likeness Eclectic combination is typical of Republican art

NON-ELITE PORTRAITURE Funerary relief with portraits of the Gessii, Rome, Italy, ca. 30 BCE, marble, 2’1” Freed slaves could not possess portrait bust of ancestors because their ancestors were not people but property Roman freedmen often placed relief sculptures of themselves and former owners on the facades of their tombs -> celebrated freedom and new status as Roman citizens

JULIUS CAESAR Denarius with portrait of Julius Caesar, 44 BCE, silver Julius Caesar was first to put his own portrait on coinage during his lifetime Republican veristic image -> but a break with Roman coinage tradition